Initiation Series: Series One Compilation (Terran Chronicles)

by James Jackson

  Many of the Primes consider the time frame and cringe, some wonder if the refit can be done in the time allotted, but all assert their support for the plan.

  Farmer Joh turns his gaze skyward as a strange sound reaches his ears. He leans on his shovel, and stares at the clouds; they are moving fast and changing colors in a way he has never seen before. He spots a distant object in the sky, exiting the clouds, and squints to get a clearer view.

  “Dark pits!” The farmer exclaims loudly, even though he is alone.

  He drops his shovel, and bolts for his mount. It is tethered, and stomps all four of its hooves, its long ears flick back and forth. Strange sounds emanate from the object, which defies his senses as it hangs in the sky. He climbs on his mount, and as he encourages it go as fast as possible, glances over his shoulder. A bright orange-red shimmering, like the heat over a forge, radiates from below the mysterious object.

  Joh’s eyes widen as a second, then a third, alien object exits the clouds, floating impossibly in the sky. He has no need to spur his mount on, it is heading for his homestead at a breakneck speed; its hooves thundering on the ground, its breathing becoming labored from its exertions.

  Approaching his home, he slows his mount, with difficulty, then jumps off and runs inside shouting, “Aliens, aliens, aliens are coming!”

  A female of around Joh’s age turns to look at him, then says, “Have ya been drinking again? I told ya that was a bad batch, and ‘ad to be tossed!”

  Joh points outside and bluntly states, “Go look for ya-self then!”

  She rises from her chair reluctantly, and rolls her eyes as she walks toward the front door. She gives Joh one last disapproving stare, sighs, then gazes outside. She grabs at the door frame as she falls to one side, a wetness runs down her legs and forms a puddle beneath her feet.

  Joh stares at the wet patch, then declares, “I told ya, but ya never listen to me!”

  She mumbles an expletive under her breath, then steps back inside. She does not look at Joh as she quietly walks to the bathroom, strips, washes, then changes her garments.

  Joh feels safer near his house rather than in the open field, and watches from just outside his doorway with mounting curiously. More alien craft glide down from the sky, and land along the edges of his fields. He cringes when one of them lands on his next harvest, its metal legs crushing the fruits of his labors. He glances up warily as his house begins to vibrate, shake, and shudder. A dark shadow falls over the area as another craft, one many times larger than the rest, comes into view. Though scared, he steps outside to get a better view, and looks upward, mystified. A strange heated wind whips all around him. Joh covers his ears in an attempt to shield them from the deafening thrumming sound emanating from the mammoth object. The warm, charged air, causes his hair to stand up, as though a storm were coming. The underside of the flying object glows bright red, with a heat shimmer clearly visible.

  The craft is larger than anything he has ever seen, or even imagined; bigger than the newly built bridge which crosses Silver Knuckle Gorge. He whistles as he realizes that it is wider, by far, than the long machines which pull vast numbers of wagons, each filled with ore from distant mines, along the new tracks. Its length is beyond his ability to comprehend as it thunders over his home.

  The monstrous alien vessel hovers above the ground, over his richest fields, as its smaller brethren land and disgorge what appear to be horseless carriages. Joh continues to watch, fascinated, as the strange ground vehicles run over his crops. They stop, and spray a grey substance onto the ground beneath each of the new comers’ metal-grey legs which begin to extend downward from the belly of the beast. Once they have finished spraying the strange grey material, the alien vessel belies its size and gently lands. He watches as its supports, each larger than his house, sink into the ground. They sink deeper than his well, then stop; the behemoth finally comes to rest. As the noise diminishes, so does the bright glow.

  Joh swallows hard as a huge ramp opens from beneath the craft, and a small craft flies his way. He stammers, “The aliens are comin’ this way!” It suddenly dawns on him that although he is afraid, he has resigned himself to his fate.

  The woman shouts fearfully, “We should’ve left when we had the chance!”

  “I can’t imagine they’re here to hurt us, I’m sure they could’ve done that if they wanted to.” He replies more bravely than he feels.

  Prytec lands the shuttle near the local’s house, then steps backward into his body suit. He strides down the small ramp, and says, “We are not here to harm you, but you will not interfere with our efforts.”

  Joh stares at the slightly taller, shiny, alien, not understanding a word it said, but knowing it spoke none-the-less. He remains paralyzed with fear as Prytec strides closer, holding out a small object in his hand. Joh nervously takes the offered object, then after a moment understands that he is to hang it over his ear, and does so.

  Prytec repeats his words, and watches as the local man’s eyes widen. Clearly, he understood that time.

  Joh wipes beads of sweat that begin to form on the bony ridges of his brow, and replies nervously, “I am Joh, and your flying,” he pauses as he tries to find the words, and fails, so he simply points to the craft instead, and continues, “things, have squished my crops.”

  Prytec grins at the comment, though with his visor down and darkened, the frightened local is unable to see his expression. He responds, “It was necessary.” He is grateful that the translators work as well as they do, especially when pre-encoded with the local dialect.

  Regent Voknor not only monitors Prytec’s conversation, he watches warily as a distant military force mobilizes. The combination of steam power, and animal drawn artillery indicates how close this civilization is to the next step in its technological advancement. He grins when he notices what appears to be a diplomatic vehicle, one which runs along the tracks, leaving a distant city. It is accompanied by a heavy military escort. He grins widely. At the speed they are traveling, he will be able to sleep before they arrive.

  Prytec listens as Voknor updates him, then says, “Inform your leaders that Regent Voknor will see them when they arrive.”

  Joh questions nervously, “Sovereign Larcos is coming here? How do you know this?”

  “When his entourage arrives, tell him to wait here. I shall return for him.” Prytec instructs.

  Joh stammers, “I can’t tell the Sovereign anything. He’s the Sovereign!”

  “You can tell your Sovereign that we don’t care what he wants.” Prytec states admonishingly. He then points to Joh and states, “He will care about what we want, and he will provide it!”

  Joh nods his head and watches as the alien strides into his flying machine, then skims across his fields back to the massive craft. He sleeps fitfully that night; strange lights and noises dominate the landscape, keeping him half-awake and wondering what is happening.

  Sovereign Larcos

  A new sound reaches Joh’s ears, waking him fully. He looks around, but it is clear that sometime through the night his woman left, though he is unsure how. He listens to the angry hissing of a steam engine that is running hot, mixed with the clanking of heavy metal treads. The vaunted Sovereign’s elite military fighting force approaches.

  Joh dresses hurriedly, then rushes outside, and stares in dismay as dozens of steam-driven, tracked, artillery pieces crush more of his fields as they position themselves. A fat man wearing a lavish fur coat, steps from his armored transport. He is followed by a group of diplomats, and stops to cast his appraising gaze over the distant alien craft. He can barely see them under the gray clouds and darkened morning due to being partially blind, but he wants no one to know of his debilitating limitation.

  Sovereign Larcos turns to Joh and runs his disapproving gaze up and down his shabby, unkempt clothing, then states, “Tell me everything!”

  Joh swallows hard, then relays the previous day’s events as clearly as he can.

  Larcos casuall
y casts his gaze over the fields and then says dismissively, “Why did you not tell them that I would wait for them here?”

  Joh’s mouth twitches as he replies, “I am not in a position to tell anyone anything.”

  “You have let them ruin your fields!” Larcos states in annoyance, “You will be lucky if anyone buys any of your produce in the future; you have let it become contaminated!”

  Joh lowers his gaze and replies softly, “What could I do against that?”

  Larcos shakes his head in disappointment. He glances at the alien craft once more, and tries to focus on the fuzzy blobs. The Sovereign turns back and states arrogantly, “My army has never lost a war. You think because they are big, they are powerful? I tell you that it simply means my gunners will not miss!”

  The handful of diplomats glance warily at each other, Larcos, and to the alien craft that dominate the landscape.

  Joh suppresses a smile when he notices a flying machine approaching from the largest craft. He points to it and says, “Sovereign, you will be able to talk to them yourself.”

  Larcos follows Joh’s finger, then being unable to see anything, states, “Guard, with me.”

  Eight soldiers line up around Larcos, and prepare their long guns. Joh shakes his head as he wonders what Larcos is thinking. He even considers that perhaps his Sovereign is insane; he is certainly detached from reality!

  Prytec scans the arsenal arrayed around him, then chuckles as he lands the shuttle. It is clear their leader is attempting to create an impression of strength, but he obviously has no idea that even their most powerful weapon would not even penetrate the thin armor on the shuttle. He steps back into his suit, turns on its shield, just in case, then strides outside.

  Larcos states authoritatively, “I am Sovereign Larcos, ruler of all you see.”

  Prytec stares through his dark vison in disbelief; the man is delusional! He suppresses a snicker as he replies, “Regent Voknor will see you. Come with me!”

  Larcos stares back blankly, he can’t understand a word the alien spoke.

  Joh is not the smartest, and frowns as it suddenly dawns on him that he can! He deliberates about what to do, then says, “It’s obvious the alien wants you to go with him, Sovereign.”

  Larcos turns to the farmer who dares address him in such and manner and rudely states, “I think not!” He then demands, “Their leader can come out here!”

  Regent Voknor has once again been listening, and is astounded by the man’s boldness. He relays his instructions to Prytec and then leans back and waits.

  Prytec grins, then states, “My Regent will see you, either before, or after your forces are destroyed. The choice is yours.”

  Joh notices movement on the alien craft, then squints to get a better view. His face twitches when he notices what appear to be weapons ports opening. He points to the alien craft and says, “I think they are getting ready to shoot!”

  One of the diplomats leans forward and whispers in the Sovereign’s ear. Larcos gives the man a disdainful look, then removes a pair of large spectacles, from his inside pocket. He puts them on, and goes weak in the knees as he looks back at the alien craft.

  Larcos gazes around, his jaw drops when he realizes the distant grey sky is actually the underside of a mammoth spacecraft, and the grey blobs he thought were close by, are actually far off in the distance. It dawns on him that just because these aliens have not fired any weapons, it does not mean they don’t have any, as he first thought. He considers his own forces, then, for the first time in his life, realizes that he is not going to be able to bluff or bully his way out of this. His confidence crumbles further as the true size of the alien craft is apparent. He knew they were large, but his poor vision skewed his perspective of them. Although the alien weapons ports are still fuzzy dots, the number of them causes him to suppress a shudder.

  Prytec has waited long enough, and makes his way to his shuttle as he states, “You either follow me, or watch as your forces are destroyed.”

  Joh sighs in relief as Larcos mumbles, “I will meet your leader, I’m not afraid.”

  Larcos has no idea what the alien actually said, but his actions are clear. As the delegation follows, Prytec motions for them to remain where they are.

  Prytec waits for the man to get on board then closes the ramp and silently points to a chair, which the Sovereign takes. As Prytec steps out of the suit, he notices that Larcos is taking shallow breaths, and his eyes are huge behind his thick spectacles.

  The bone spurs on Prytec’s elbows, which were pressed against his arms, flick back to their typical position, as do those on his legs, causing Larcos to nearly faint. Noticing the man’s response, he flexes his arms, causing the bone spurs to lock into place, and become rigid.

  Prytec bares his sharp teeth and states, “You are fortunate that Regent Voknor rules! Our previous Regent would have annihilated your most heavily populated cities, and then contacted you. As it is, many of us would prefer he did anyway, for your insolence!”

  Larcos shifts uncomfortably in his chair, but says nothing as he stares at the mottled-green alien. He waits nervously, and wonders what is going to happen to him.

  Prytec leans closer, presses his three-clawed hand behind the sovereign’s ear, then dares, “Remove that concealed blade from your sleeve, or I shall enjoy slitting you open with it!”

  Larcos stares in disbelief, he understands the alien’s words. With deliberately slow movements, Larcos removes the small weapon, and places it on the floor. He had forgotten about it, and begins to shake in fear as he realizes that his sheltered upbringing has failed to prepare him for any real threats, or any true negotiations. He always got, or took, what he wanted, or his advisors did anyway. All he really did was eat, sleep with various women, and vacation.

  Prytec makes his way to his pilot seat, closes the hatchway to the rear cabin, and then relaxes his bone spurs, allowing them to rest against his arms once more. He grins, it has been a long time since he has done that, and it felt good to posture. He flies directly to the flagship, then lands in the hangar deck.

  Larcos gags as the shuttle’s ramp opens, allowing the thick Gamin atmosphere inside. He stands, then nearly collapses as the heavier gravity surprises him. Under Prytec’s promptings, he staggers down the ramp, to come face to face with a dozen well-armed Gamin. The group walks to the bridge. It is a long walk, and takes a considerable amount of time.

  Larcos is wheezing heavily by the time they arrive at the bridge. He stops and stares at the majestic view of the countryside in stunned silence. Amazingly, the view includes some of his forces, and the delegation which he left at the farmer’s residence. He has no idea how this is done, but he momentarily forgets the thick, foul smelling, air.

  Prytec strides forward, then states, “Regent Voknor, this is Sovereign Larcos, who claims to rule all we can see.”

  Larcos swallows hard, and actually tastes the putrid air in the process, nearly causing him to gag. His eyes flutter nervously as he realizes that he did indeed make that claim, an exaggerated claim. He hesitantly runs his gaze over Voknor’s blotchy green scaly skin, tooth filled snout, and yellow eyes with vertical irises, and then shudders. Voknor looks like something out of a horror story, and yet there he is, an outlandish creature with advanced technology.

  Regent Voknor has prepared his speech, and begins by pointing to the main viewer, which now displays a long bridge over a deep gorge. “We require ore, large quantities of ore, and you will provide it.”

  Larcos blinks in stunned disbelief, “We cannot simply give you those raw materials. They are needed for our factories and industries!” He states bluntly, in his usual way.

  “Machkno, fire!” Voknor orders, already tired of the Sovereign’s air of superiority.

  “WAIT!” Larcos screeches, but Machkno does not listen to the Sovereign, and activates the fire controls.

  Larcos watches as a single object streaks out from the front of the massive craft, and disappear into the distan
ce. The main viewer then refocuses on a long wooden bridge, the one that spans Silver Knuckle Gorge. The impact to the bridge is staggering, but fortunately, being predominantly made of wood, actually saves it from collapsing. Instead, a huge gaping hole appears mid-span, where the projectile passes through.

  The bridge crew is impressed, and silently cheer. That was a well-placed shot by Machkno. He had to compensate for wind, gravity, and the slight curvature of the planet.

  Regent Voknor leans forward and states, “Well, it looks like your raw materials have nowhere else to go now, except here!”

  Larcos points at Regent Voknor, and opens his mouth, then quickly shuts it and drops his hand. He was about to bluster and make threats, then realizes that instead, he can turn this into an opportunity. “I will order the laying of tracks, and will redirect the ore here.” He replies begrudgingly.

  Regent Voknor stands, his dais adding to his impressive height, and says, “My crew will perform the construction, and if you cooperate, we will repair your bridge prior to our departure.”

  Larcos glances warily at the guards, and then considers the power of the weapon he witnessed. He replies reluctantly, “I will order all ore here.” Cringing, he realizes that many wagons are probably on the wrong side of the gorge. He suddenly realizes that these can follow the old route, and that ore can still travel to his factories, it will simply take longer. He deliberates about giving some to the aliens, just not all.

  Voknor stares at the Sovereign, his thinking plainly visible, and bluntly states, “Any ore that bypasses us, will be destroyed at its destination.” He finishes forcefully.

  Larcos’ eyes go wide; he had not considered that the aliens could read his mind and stammers, “I was considering how to get the ore to you,” He states with a timid smile, “that’s all!”

  Voknor glares at the petulant man and says, “You are playing a dangerous game. One that will cost you your life, and your people much more if you do not comply.”